Confessions of a vinyl addict

Apa Chappel pulls a Tall Dwarves record from his collection. He particularly likes Chris Knox's cover art.


Written By By REBECCA THOMSON - The Wellingtonian


Cassettes have long gone, CDs are on their way out, but records are here to stay, according to collector and DJ Apa Chappel.

Last year, the Mt Cook resident formed the Wellington Vinyl Club, which holds bring-and-buys at the Southern Cross.

Chappel has boxed up about 800 records to take to the next meeting, but still up to 4000 lining his living walls.

"That's a small number compared to some collectors, he said. "There are guys out there who have 10,000 to 20,000 records. One guy I know claims to have 100,000."

Chappel bought his first record, by hip hop artist Pharoahe Monch, about 10 years ago, but started collecting seriously about three years ago.

"It all started with DJing and it's turned into a collection. I spend $100 to $400 a week it's an addiction."

His collection is shelved according to genre. There's everything from Kiwi classics The Datsuns, Dragon and Tall Dwarves and hip hop to movie soundtracks and Neil Diamond.

It's too hard to pick a favourite, but Chappel's gems include an audio recording of Lady Diana and Prince Charles' wedding, a number of old radio shows and self-help piece Relax with Self Hypnosis.

"You just can't get that sort of stuff on CD," he said.

Real Groovy and Slowboat Records are Chappel's favourite haunts, but he also searches online, in second-hand shops and at fairs.

"Last year it was Trade Me, and it still is a bit. Before that is was garage sales, school galas and town fairs, but you have to beat other people off at those. They're popular."

He buys only music available on record, and hasn't bought CDs for years now.

"Everything is on vinyl, even new stuff. What I've noticed about Real Groovy is that 60 to 70 per cent of records are new recordings by new bands.

"Records are fashionable, they're re making a comeback. People like the cover art, and the sound of vinyl is so much better than CD, because CD sound is compressed, vinyl sound isn't."

SOURCE: http://www.stuff.co.nz

Where Are the Beatles Reissues? Enterprising Fans Take Matters Into Their Own Hands

Jerry McCulley


In an era of declining music sales and rapid technological advancement, it’s still hard to fathom the sorry lot of the Beatles canon. Not only is the catalog of rock music’s most successful and influential act still not available for legal digital download, for the most part it hasn’t received even the basic remastering afforded pop music acts with a fraction of the Fab Four’s historical importance and consumer clout. Thus the Beatles catalog continues to be represented by thin-sounding, now two-decade-old digital mastering accomplished at the dawn of the CD era.

Worse, the culprits for the Beatle catalog’s perpetually sorry state of affairs seem to be the surviving band members and the heirs of John Lennon and George Harrison themselves. As partners in the band’s Apple company, they have final say as to what product music distributor EMI is allowed to issue — which, outside of the Anthology series a decade ago and the recent Love collaboration with Cirque du Soleil — hasn’t been much over the course of the 40 years since the band dissolved. Even more inexplicable is the fact that the Apple principles hired a veteran label exec two years ago specifically to develop a reissue program.

Typical of the situation were last year’s rumors — purportedly floated by an EMI insider — that the band was preparing a deluxe 40th anniversary edition of their monumental White Album. Instead, eager fans were eventually directed to the band’s official website, where they were offered a commemorative White Album fountain pen — for $395. And while the upcoming Beatles edition of Rock Band should please video gamers, what of the basic catalog of epochal recordings that inspired it?

Some Fabs fans already know that comprehensive sets of Beatles reissues are already available — they’re just not legally authorized. While an already sizable trove of leaked Beatles outtakes continues to grow (the latest, a radically expanded early version of “Revolution,” surfaced just last month, a cadre of more industrious — if legally unsanctioned — fans strives to preserve the band’s recorded legacy in other ways.

At least three different entities have now issued sonically upgraded versions of the Beatles catalog, usually using pristine vintage vinyl editions as source material for their digital upgrades. The most ambitious is a virtual “label” known as “Purple Chick” (the moniker is part wordplay on two notorious bootleg labels, Great Dane and Yellow Dog), which issues continually upgraded editions of each original Beatles album that include not only its officially released mono/stereo mixes and period singles, but every available alternate mix and studio outtake as well. Some PC editions are only two CDs in length, while their White Album sprawls over a dozen virtual discs.


Purple Chick’s Sgt. Peppers edition

When the separated master four-track recordings of a handful of Sgt. Pepper’s tracks surfaced in late 2007, Purple Chick quickly added yet another volume to its already comprehensive chronicle of the album. It can do so quickly because its releases are virtual, shared on the Internet via torrent, blogs and file sharing services, many of which are difficult to police at best. Then there’s the disclaimer the label adds to the equally accomplished artwork provided with its releases: “Fan Created..NEVER FOR SALE!!!”

In a rare interview with veteran Beatles chronicler Doug Sulpy’s 910 fan site, the anonymous “PC” offered some insight to their motivations: “I'm just making what I'd like to see on my shelves. I am flattered that people seem to like my work but there's no motivation, financial or otherwise, except to please myself.”

The virtual label’s most ambitious project was A/B Road, an 83-volume set chronicling the Beatles’ January, 1969 sessions that eventually yielded Let It Be. Painstakingly assembled from a jumble of film sound outtakes and other sources, the set took a full year to complete. PC has also tackled other personal music obsessions, like the Beach Boys lost Smile sessions and, most recently, an exhaustive, 10-volume chronicle of Buddy Holly’s career.

So if/when September 26 rolls around this year and there’s no official, remastered 40th anniversary edition of Abbey Road available — or, worse, a $395 commemorative fountain pen instead — be advised that Purple Chick already has a version available (three discs worth, in fact) somewhere in cyberspace.


Available now: Purple Chick's Abbey Road

SOURCE: http://www.gibson.com

Classic Rock Videos

Stevie Wonder - For Once in my Life

Mr. Music

I am continuing our new feature: Ask "Mr. Music." Now in its 23rd year of syndication (1986-2008), Jerry Osborne's weekly Q&A feature will be a regular post every Wednesday from now on. Be sure to stop by Jerry's site (www.jerryosborne.com) for more Mr. Music archives, record price guides, anything Elvis, buy & sell collectibles, record appraisals and much more. I thank Jerry for allowing the reprints.

For The Week Of March 9, 2009

DEAR JERRY: Just a few months ago I spotted a brief mention in one of the New York papers about a portion of Tin Pan Alley being sold.

The most disturbing aspect of this story is a suggestion the new owner should raze all of the existing buildings and construct a new high-rise.

I have read nothing since about this situation. Are those historic music publishing buildings still standing?

Considering the significance of Tin Pan Alley in American music history, you may want to look into this. —Marty Gordon, Gettysburg, Pa.

DEAR MARTY: I do and I did.

First, for readers who missed the story you reference, here is an excerpt from the October 9, 2008 New York Post story, “Tin Pan Alley's Sad Tune,” by Braden Keil, Irene Plagianos and Andy Geller:

“Much to the dismay of tenants and preservationists, five of the buildings on West 28th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue — a block that for 60 years was the heart of the songwriting industry — have gone up for sale.

“The five buildings, at 47, 49, 51, 53 and 55 West 28th Street, are being sold as a group for — hold on to your hat in these cacophonous economic times — a mere $44 million.”

The listing agent named at the time was Lois D. Thompson, an associate broker at Coldwell Banker's Syosset (Long Island) office.

I checked the company's web page, which apparently once served as the site for this listing, and it states succinctly: “property is no longer available.”

Now with amplified curiosity, I called Lois Thompson (February 20) and asked for an update on these properties. Unfortunately, the only reply Lois gave is “I can't say anything about that at this time. If and when I can I'll get back to you.”

Mmmmm … very interesting.

For now at least, you know as much about this piece of Tin Pan Alley as most of the world's population.

DEAR JERRY: A very popular Western song is “Little Joe the Wrangler,” one I've heard by many folks, from Marty Robbins and Roger Wagner to the Sons of the Pioneers.

No matter the singer, there is one thing they all have in common. Though a somewhat lengthy tale is told, not a single line or verse is repeated.

I don't know how uncommon this might be, but I can't think of another hit or famous song where every line is new.

Can you name one? —Claude Kellogg, Boston, Mass.

DEAR CLAUDE: This is not a common technique, but it is not unique to “Little Joe the Wrangler.”

It may surprise you to know I don't even have to go beyond Marty Robbins to cite twice that many.

Marty's 4:47 signature song, “El Paso,” has no repeated lines. More impressive is the prequel, “Feleena (From El Paso),” which runs 8:18 with nary a line repeated.

Apart from the genius of Robbins, Rock and Roll poet Chuck Berry contributed several tunes to this category. Among those are “Let It Rock” (1960); “Our Little Rendezvous” (1960); “Promised Land” (1964); and “Memphis, Tennessee” (1959).

Like Marty Robbins did with two “El Paso” adventures, Chuck does with the “Memphis” sequel, “Little Marie” (1964).

As evidenced by these examples, this chorus-free style of writing is mostly found in songs that tell a story, as would be found in a book or any non-musical account of the events.

IZ ZAT SO? Coming up with some Rock Era No. 1 hits with no lines repeated is tough, but here are a couple to at least get you a passing grade if you're quizzed: Roy Orbison's “Running Scared” (1961) and “The Long and Winding Road” (1970), the last hit by the Beatles as a group.

Jeannie C. Riley's 1968 mega-selling “Harper Valley P.T.A.” just barely fails to qualify.

Not until the very last line in the song is there a repeat. Twice in a row she sings “the day my mama socked it to the Harper Valley P.T.A.”

And that is just one “sock” too many.

======================================

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Music News & Notes

Magik Markers Make the Magic Happen in May

Magik Markers are looking to May 5th to release their new album, Balf Quarry. It will be released on Drag City Records. The album was named after an old stone pit just outside of Hartford, Connecticut, It will be released on both CD and vinyl.

The Magik Markers formed in Hartford, CT, in 2001, featuring guitarist/vocalist Elisa Ambrogio, drummer Pete Nolan, and bassist Leah Quimby. Inspired by no-wave and hardcore, the trio developed a free-rocking sound that made the most of their stream-of-consciousness approach.

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Doves New Album

Doves will release their fourth album, Kingdom of Rust, on April 7th on Astralwerks. To get the party started right, they've offered a song available for free, titled Jetstream. This will be the first official full length album since 2005's Some Cities.

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Placebo announce self-released sixth album

Not content to let new bands hog the eyeliner, Placebo have announced the release of their sixth album, Battle for the Sun. The "optimistic" and "positive" LP will be released on 8 June.

"We've made a record about choosing life, and choosing to live, about stepping out of the darkness and into the light," frontman Brian Molko told NME.

To capture all this cheeriness, the band travelled to beautiful, sunny, er, Toronto, recording with Dave Bottrill, producer of Tool's Lateralus. The album was mixed by Alan Moulder, who has worked with My Bloody Valentine, Nine Inch Nails and Smashing Pumpkins.

Battle for the Sun is Placebo's first album since parting ways with Steve Hewitt, their drummer of 11 years. They now have a 22-year-old Californian named Steve Forrest in charge of hitting things.

The band have also left their long-time label, Virgin Records, self-funding the album and releasing it in an independent deal with Pias. "I'm very optimistic about the future," Molko said. "I'm in a positive frame of mind and a good headspace."

Indeed, instead of sulking in his bedroom, Molko and his bandmates are busily autographing box sets. Deluxe £70 editions of Battle for the Sun are now available for pre-order, with the first 500 buyers receiving signed copies. The set also includes a live CD, a DVD of last year's performance at Angkor Wat, a making-of DVD, vinyl LP, and two books.

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New Vinyl Releases

Black Joe Lewis: Tell 'Em What Your Name Is! (vinyl)
Black Sabbath: Heaven & Hell (remastered vinyl)
Black Sabbath: Heaven & Hell (remastered vinyl)
Black Sabbath: Live Evil (remastered vinyl)
Black Sabbath: Mob Rules (remastered vinyl)
Bonnie Prince Billy: Beware (vinyl
Decemberists: Hazards of Love (vinyl)
Eleni Mandell: Artificial Fire (vinyl)
Joy Division: Leigh Rock Festival 1979 (import vinyl)
The Loved Ones: Distractions EP (vinyl)
Principles of Geometry: Interstate Highway System (vinyl)
Say Hi: Oohs & Aahs (vinyl)
Various Artists Watchmen (soundtrack) (vinyl)
Violens: V EP
Wavves: Wavvves (vinyl)
White Lies: How to Lose My Life (vinyl)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Zero (single)

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Bloc Party To Release New Remix Album
Featuring Armand Van Helden re-working...

Bloc Party are to release a remixed edition of their latest album 'Intimacy' on May 11th.

The album includes remixes from the likes of Villains, Filthy Dukes and Mogwai.

An Armand Van Helden re-working of 'Signs', which also features on the album, will be released as a single on April 27th.

The album will be available on both CD and triple vinyl.

The tracklisting for 'Intimacy Remixed' is:

'Ares' (Villains remix)
'Mercury' (Hervé Is In Disarray remix)
'Halo' (We Have Band Dub)
'Biko' (Mogwai remix)
'Trojan Horse' (John B remix)
'Signs' (Armand Van Helden remix)
'One Month Off' (Filthy Dukes remix)
'Zephyrus' (Phase One remix)
'Talons' (Phones RIP remix)
'Better Than Heaven' (No Age remix)
'Ion Square' (Banjo or Freakout remix)
'Your Visits are Getting Shorter' (Double D Remix)

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Madonna to Record New Songs for Greatest Hits Collection

Madonna’s 25-year tenure with Warner Music will come to an end with a new greatest hits compilation due out in September, the Material Girl’s management told People.

“Madonna does have plans to go into the studio to record a few new songs for this album,” says Madonna’s publicist Liz Rosenberg. “We’re hoping to have a greatest hits package come out in September. We’re all very excited about it.”

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New Skynryd LP

Lynyrd Skynyrd has signed with Loud & Proud/Roadrunner Records and are planning to release a new album later this year. It will be their first album of new material since 2003's Vicious Cycle.

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Pete Seeger's 90th Birthday Celebration

Dave Matthews, Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder, John Mellencamp and Emmylou Harris are among the dozens of musicians who will gather and celebrate American folk music legend Pete Seeger's 90th birthday with a gala concert at Madison Square Garden on May 3.

The event, dubbed "The Clearwater Concert: Creating the Next Generation of Environmental Leaders," will raise funds and awareness for Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, an environmental organization founded by Seeger to preserve and protect the Hudson River.

Other artists scheduled to appear include Steve Earle, Joan Baez, Juanes, Richie Havens, Kris Kirstofferson, Tom Morello, Billy Bragg, Michael Franti and Ben Harper.

Classic Rock Videos

STEVIE WONDER-Superstition

Bird & Animal Names in Rock & Roll History

Throughout music history there have been many bands that have adopted an "animal" or "bird" monikers to represent their band and their sound. Some artists even have a last name that fits into this category and in this continuing article series we will explore some of the unique "animal" and "bird" names and the diverse music that has been created by these groups or individuals.

As I prepared for this project, I did not realize the amount of bands and artists who fall into the category. There are so many new bands like Fleet Foxes, Minus The Bear, Weird Owl and Andrew Bird, Animal Collective, just to name a few, to add to the growing list (which is no particular order). If you have a particular band or artist that fits into this article series, please email me and I can add them to the growing and seemingly endless list. Look for this feature every Tuesday and Thursday. This should be a fun series!

First and foremost and fittingly leading the pack is of course the 1960's group led by Eric Burdon, appropriately called The Animals. The group was one of the first R&B-based bands from the first wave of the British Invasion. With their breakthrough hit “House Of The Rising Sun,” which hit number one on the Billboard charts in 1964, the Animals went on to record several Top 40 hits including: “Don t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place,” the rebellious “Its My Life” and “Dont Bring Me Down,” among many others. After many personnel changes, the band was renamed Eric Burdon and the Animals and secured Top 40 fame with hits like “See See Rider,” a Top Ten hit, “San Franciscan Nights,” and the spacey psychedelia of “Sky Pilot.”

The popular myth is that their audience called the group “Animals,” thus their name, but actually Burdon and band member John Steel knew of a gang led by a crazy Army vet who called himself “Animal Hog.” He was a symbol of rebellion to the band members and inspired them to name their band the Animals. Eric Burdon recorded two albums with the soul/pop-rock group War and scored a Top Ten hit with the narrative ditty called “Spill The Wine.”

Do you remember a group called the Teddy Bears? The group managed to secure a number one hit with a song called “To Know Him Is To Love Him,” which was written by band member Phil Spector.

In the late 50’s, Spector wanted to break into the music business so he booked a session at the Gold Star Studios. Studio time cost $15 an hour plus an additional $6.00 for a reel of blank tape. But Spector's first obstacle to becoming a recording star and record producer was raising the $40. The first ten came from his mother. He then enlisted the help of some of his friends to contribute the rest. One, a sixteen year old student at Fairfax High School named Annette Kleinbard, contributed the final ten dollars if she could be included in the group. The group picked their name from a very popular tune at the time "Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear," which was a US number one hit for Elvis Presley during the summer of 1957.

In the summer of 1958, Spector and his friends recorded a cut called "You Don't Know My Little Pet." In September of 1958, a deejay in Fargo, North Dakota, flipped the single over and played the B-side which was "To Know Him Is To Love Him." Soon orders were flying in for the new song and the Teddy Bears were a national hit, even appearing on American Bandstand with Dick Clark. "To Know Him Is To Love Him" became a number one record, selling more than a million copies before Christmas. So at 17, Phil Spector had written, arranged, played, sung, and produced the best-selling record in the country. Although subsequent releases by the Teddy Bears were well-recorded pop, they did not sell, and within a year of the debut, Spector disbanded the group.

Now a famous “one hit wonder,” the Teddy Bears disbanded, in part, because of Spector’s reluctance to be a performer. The rest is rock and roll history, as he became a world famous record producer, incorporating his “wall of sound” recording production method for such artists as The Crystals, The Ronettes, Darlene Love, The Righteous Brothers and of course the Beatles (“Let It Be”) among many others.

Ross Bagdasarian created the fictional character band and a multi-million empire centered around three friendly rodents with his novelty act the Chipmunks. Bagdasarian adopted the name David Seville after executives at Liberty Records told him his name was too difficult to pronounce. Seville named the three chipmunks after executives at Liberty Records. Alvin was named after Al Bennett, the president of the company; Simon was named after Bennett’s partner Si Waronker and Theodore was named after Ted Keep, a recording engineer. Seville’s own mischievous son inspired the role of Alvin and Seville was inspired to name the sped up voices of his fictional group, The Chipmunks, after having to stop in Yosemite, California when a chipmunk in the road refused to budge and he had to stop his car.

In 1958, Bagdasarian began experimenting with a novel technique, recording normal vocals, but then speeding up the playback on a tape machine. When the tape was played back at double speed, they would sound a full octave higher in pitch, at normal tempo. The voices of the group were all performed by Bagdasarian and the process yielded the number one hit "Witch Doctor" in early 1958, and the phenomenon snowballed later that year when his Christmas gimmick single “The Chipmunk Song” spent four weeks at the top of the charts.

Although Bagdasarian died in 1972, his son Ross Jr. revived Alvin, Simon, and Theodore in 1979 on Saturday mornings and on the 1980 album Chipmunk Punk. The series became more popular than it was in the '60s, and albums of the Chipmunks singing country, Christmas, rock, and Hollywood favorites were big sellers, though they didn't enjoy chart success.

In the next article we will continue exploring more “animal” groups, including the Turtles and the Monkees.

Tidbits:

The Animals:

The original line-up comprised Eric Burdon (vocals), Alan Price (organ and keyboards), Hilton Valentine (guitar), John Steel (drums), and Bryan "Chas" Chandler (bass)and has gone through various incarnations since.

The original Animals were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Their influence can be heard in artists as diverse as The Doors, Joe Cocker, The Cult, Frijid Pink, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Janis Joplin and Fine Young Cannibals and many more.

In 2003, the band's version of "House of the Rising Sun" ranked #122 on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. Their 1965 hit single "We Gotta Get out of This Place" was ranked #233 on Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list that was put together in 2004. Both songs are included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

The original Animals line-up of Burdon, Price, Valentine, Chandler, and Steel reunited for a benefit concert in Newcastle in 1968.

Chandler died in 1996, putting an end to the full original line-up.

Buy Animals Music


Teddy Bears:

Spector’s inspiration to write the song actually came from a photograph of his father’s tombstone which read “to know him is to love him.”

Kleinbard was involved in an auto accident in September 1959, but recovered and attempted a solo singing career. She had a number of recording contracts, but enjoyed success as a songwriter. She was a co-writer of "The Nights the Lights Went Out In Georgia" a gold record by Vicki Lawrence in 1973 and a country hit for Reba McEntire in 1992. She also co-wrote "Hey Little Cobra" for the Ripchords and "Gonna Fly Now" the theme from the first Rocky movie.

Spector was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a "non-performer" in 1989. He is truly one of the legends of modern pop music.

After the Teddy Bears broke up, Phil Spector moved back to New York, where he worked with Leiber and Stoller in 1960. With Leiber, he co-wrote "Spanish Harlem," a massive hit for ex-Drifter Ben E. King. Spector also played guitar on the Drifters' "On Broadway."

Buy "To Know Him is to Love Him


The Chipmunks & Dave Seville:

In 1959, the Chipmunks (Seville) won three Grammy Awards for Best Recording for Children, Best Comedy Performance, and Best Engineered Record - Non-Classical for the song "The Chipmunk Song." (Was also nominated for Record of the Year, but did not win.)

In 1961, Seville won a Grammy Award for Best Album for Children for the album “Let's All Sing with The Chipmunks.”

As their popularity grew, the Chipmunks' voices were recorded onto audiotape by voice talent talking or singing at half the normal speed. The technique was by no means new to the Chipmunks. For example, the high and low pitched characters in The Wizard of Oz were achieved by speeding up and slowing down vocal recordings.

The Chipmunk’s recorded numerous novelty songs, prime time animated specials, record albums and were featured in a Saturday morning cartoon series.

The words of the song “Witch Doctor” are nonsense: "Oo-ee, oo-ah-ah, ting-tang, walla-walla, bing-bang." The "Walla Walla" part of the song was just thrown in as a reference to Ross Bagdasarian's uncle who lived in Walla Walla, Washington.

Bird & Animal Band Names Feature

This from the folks at Rolling Stone: their list of the top animal bands (the Beatles were banned for some odd reason as were all 'bug' bands) is listed below. I have recently began a great series of "Birds & Animals Groups in Rock and Roll History" at my new writing assignment, www.musicstack.com. I will try and cover all the bands with a Bird & Animal moniker (mine will include bugs, insects and even fish!), no small feat I will admit, because if you name an animal, there probably has been a group that has used the name. I will start to post the articles here as well, there are a lot of interesting and fascinating stories behind the names!

Rolling Stones' Readers’ Rock List: Animal Bands

1. Animal Collective
2. Eagles
3. The Animals
4. Fleet Foxes
5. Grizzly Bear
6. Modest Mouse
7. Super Furry Animals
8. Cat Power
9. Panda Bear
10. Wolfmother
11. The Monkees
12. Def Leppard
13. Steppenwolf
14. Wolf Parade
15. Phish
16. The Byrds
17. Gorillaz
18. The Turtles
19. The Yardbirds
20. Dr. Dog

Music News & Notes

KAMELOT Keyboardist's SONS OF SEASONS Announce Live Dates For Germany, Reveal Cover Art For Debut Album Special Edition Featuring EPICA Vocalist


SONS OF SEASONS, founded by KAMELOT keyboardist Oliver Palotai, have revealed the cover art for the limited edition version of their debut album, Gods Of Vermin, which is different from the standard edition. It features EPICA vocalist Simone Simons, who also makes a guest appearance on the album.



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Elvis Items On Auction Block


Gotta Have Rock and Roll (www.gottahaverockandroll.com) started an on-line auction today for over 500 lots of Elvis Presley owned items and other Elvis memorabilia. The auction runs through March 25.

The top items in the auction:

Lot #506: White Wm. Knabe & Co. Grand Piano Used at Graceland - Minimum Bid $500,000
Lot #001: Elvis' Madison Square Garden Jumpsuit - Blue with Gold Lining - $100,000
Lot #309: Hound Dog Christmas Oil Painting by Ralph Wolfe Cowan - $25,000
Lot #310: Praying Elvis Oil Painting by Ralph Wolfe Cowan - $25,000
Lot #311: Pink Cadillac Oil Painting by Ralph Wolfe Cowan - $25,000
Lot #015: Elvis Presley Signed Seventh Degree Black Belt Karate Card with Fingerprints - $10,000
Lot #011: Elvis Presley Owned and Worn Silver & Turquoise Belt - $8,000
Lot #005: Elvis Presley Owned and Worn Black Pants and Shirt with IC Costume Label - $8,000
Lot #012: Elvis Presley Owned and Worn 14kt Gold and Diamond Owl Ring - $5,000
Lot #013: Elvis Presley Owned and Worn Solid 14kt Gold Diamond Pave Bracelet - $5,000
For those with a little less money, there are a number of Presley albums, press books, lobby cards and other ephemera available for under $100.

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Dylan's New LP

Columbia Records has officially announced an April 28 release date for Bob Dylan's 46th album, called "Together Through Life."

The album comes on the heels of the critically acclaimed "Modern Times," "Love and Theft" and "Time Out of Mind" Those three releases have led to a huge career resurgence for the icon, winning multiple Grammys and each selling over a million copies.

The album was recorded late last year and is based on classic styles from the Chess and Sun recordings of the 1950's. In an interview on his sight, Dylan commented.

". . . the old Chess records, the Sun records. . . I think that’s my favorite sound for a record.

"I like the mood of those records - the intensity. The sound is uncluttered. There’s power and suspense. The whole vibration feels like it could be coming from inside your mind. It’s alive. It’s right there. Kind of sticks in your head like a toothache."
In discussing the change in sound from his last album, Modern Times:

"All the Modern Times songs were written and performed in the widest range possible so they had a little bit of everything. These new songs have more of a romantic edge.

"These songs don’t need to cover the same ground. The songs on Modern Times songs brought my repertoire up to date, and the light was directed in a certain way. You have to have somebody in mind as an audience otherwise there’s no point.

"There didn’t seem to be any general consensus among my listeners. Some people preferred my first period songs. Some, the second. Some, the Christian period. Some, the post Colombian. Some, the Pre-Raphaelite. Some people prefer my songs from the nineties. I see that my audience now doesn’t particular care what period the songs are from. They feel style and substance in a more visceral way and let it go at that."

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Bad Co Tour?

That one-off performance by Bad Company must have gone pretty well as the band has announced on its website:

"Just announced: Bad Company to tour in 2009! Paul Rodgers, Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke have announced that Bad Co will perform together again. Dates to be announced soon."

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ELP Return?

Carl Palmer's website is hinting at a possible Emerson, Lake and Palmer reunion tour.

"2009 is shaping up to be one of Palmer's busiest years in his career, that began with The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown and spanned four decades plus. In addition to select dates with the Carl Palmer Band, Palmer will return to his drum kit, propelling the powerful sound of the original ASIA. There is also talk of an ELP reunion tour in the fall."

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Kid Rock/Lynryd Skynyrd Tour

Following on the heels of their successful “Rock and Rebels” tour together last year, Kid Rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd will teamup once again for another trek this summer. The tour will kick off June 26th in West Palm Beach, Florida. Tickets for the shows go on sale March 20th at Live Nation’s Website. Like last time, Rock will be backed by the 11-piece Twisted Brown Trucker Band.

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Mötley Crüe - Crue Fest 2

Mötley Crüe will be joined by Godsmack, Theory of a Deadman, Drowning Pool and Charm City Devils on the Crüe Fest 2: The White Trash Circus tour, the band announced at a Fuse TV press conference yesterday (March 16).

The band will celebrate the 20th anniversary of "Dr. Feelgood," its first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, by performing the album in its entirety on the tour, which kicks off July 19 in Camden, NJ and runs through Sept. 5 in Darien Lake, NY.

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Thicke Readying New Release

Robin Thicke has made enough progress on his next album to predict a first single this summer with a full-length release in the fall.

"I've got about 15 new (songs)," Thicke told reporters during a Monday conference call to promote his upcoming concert tour with Jennifer Hudson. The big change this time, he said, was working with a variety of different producers rather than helming the set himself.

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CATHEDRAL: 'Caravan Beyond Redemption' Reissued On Double Splatter Vinyl - Mar. 16, 2009


Night Of The Vinyl Dead Records has released CATHEDRAL's "Caravan Beyond Redemption" album on limited-edition double splatter vinyl with a gatefold cover. The LP, which was originally released by Earache in 1998, is limited to 500 copies.







CATHEDRAL's latest album, "The Garden of Unearthly Delights", was released in Europe in October 2005 and in North America in January 2006. Produced by Warren Ryker (DOWN, CROWBAR), the CD was said to be the band's "most varied effort so far." Using every stylistic device — from female vocals up to violins — and embedding it all in that typical CATHEDRAL brand of doom, "The Garden of Unearthly Delights" is a treat for every fan of the band, old and new alike. The follow-up to 2002's "The VIIth Coming" once again features the epic artwork of long-standing CATHEDRAL sleeve artist Dave Patchett.

This Date In Music History- March 17

Birthdays:

Pattie "Layla" Boyd (former Mrs. George Harrison and Mrs. Eric Clapton-- the one he wrote "Layla" for) turns 64.

Scott Gorham- guitar, Thin Lizzy (1951)

John Sebastian ("Welcome Back" and lead singer of the Lovin' Spoonful) is 65.

Caroline Corr - The Corrs (1973)

Melissa Auf der Maur- Hole, Smashing Pumpkins (1972)

Billy Corgan- Smashing Pumpkins (1967)

Paul Kantner- Jefferson Airplane/Starship (1941)

Jim Weatherly (1943)


They Are Missed:

The late Nat "King" Cole was born in 1919.

Terry Stafford ("Suspicion") died of liver failure in 1996.

The late Zola Taylor of the Platters ("Twilight Time"-- claimed after his death that Frankie Lyman had married her) was born in 1938.

Samuel George, Jr., lead singer of the Capitols ("Cool Jerk") was stabbed to death during a family argument in Detroit in 1982.

Rick Grech, bass player with Family, Blind Faith and Traffic died of kidney and liver failure in 1990.


History:

In 1962, the Shirelles release "Soldier Boy." The single becomes the New Jersey girl group's biggest hit, selling a million copies and going all the way to #1.

The Bee Gees made their U.S. television debut on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1968. They performed "To Love Somebody" and "Words."

Tangerine Dream formed in 1970.

In 1951, Sam Phillips recorded Howlin' Wolf for Chess Records.

The Champs started a five week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1958 with 'Tequila', a #5 hit in the UK.

In 1997, the RIAA announced that the Eagles' "Greatest Hits" album had tied Michael Jackson's "Thriller" as the all-time best-selling album in the U.S.

In 1976, Bob Dylan's protest song "Hurricane" led to boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter's murder case being reopened.

The Grateful Dead released their self-titled debut album in 1967.

In 2000, Dixie Chick Natalie Maines apologized to George W. Bush for comments made earlier in the month. Several radio stations boycotted the group's records after Maines said she was ashamed the president was from her home state of Texas.

“Deja Vu,” by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, was released in 1970. With the addition of Neil Young giving the band a more electric edge, the album goes to #1 and sells more than 7 million copies.

Paul McCartney tops the Rolling Stone rich list in 2003, with earnings of $72 million. Runners-up were the Rolling Stones ($44 million) and Dave Matthews Band ($31 million).

The movie "American Hot Wax" (about influential disk jockey Alan Freed) premiered in 1978.

In 1958, the Coasters recorded "Yakety Yak," which was highlighted by King Curtis's honking sax solo. It hits #1 on both the pop and R&B charts, and King Curtis becomes a mainstay of Atlantic Records' soul and R&B sound.

Eric Weissberg started a three-week run at #1 in 1973 with “Dueling Banjos.” Song taken from the film “Deliverance.”

In 1973, Dr Hook's single “On The Cover Of Rolling Stone” peaked at #6 on the US chart. The single was banned in the UK by the BBC due to the reference of the magazine.

The soundtrack album “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” started a two week run at #1 on the US album chart in 2002.

Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales

Week Ending 03/07/2009

1. 45 - The Admirations "You Left Me" / "I Want To Be Free" Peaches - $4,350.00 - Start: $9.99 - Bids: 29

2. 45 - The Kings "Don't Say You're Sorry" / "Kicking With My Stallion" Club - $2,938.88 - Start: $999.99 - Bids: 14

3. 45 - The Residents "Santa Dog" set Ralph - $2,241.00 - Start: $9.99 - Bids: 27

4. 45 - Nirvana "Love Buzz" 670/1000 Sub Pop - $2,200.00 - Start: n/a - Bids: Best Offer

5. LP - Dexter Gordon "Blows Hot & Cool" Dootone Red Wax - $2,013.00 - Start: $9.99 - Bids: 20

A Northern Soul 45 from The Admirations tops the list this week, bidding up halfway over $4.3k. A Doo-Wop 45 get the #2 spot, this record from The Kings sells for over $2.9k.

The first Resident's singles get over $2.2k and the #3 spot. Next, the Nirvana Love Buzz 7" sells on a Best Offer for $2.2k.

And last, a red wax pressing of a Dexter Gordon LP bids up a little over $2k.

A special thank you to Norm at http://ccdiscoveries.blogspot.com/ for this great data!

Music News & Notes

Dream Theater Release New Album Details

Progressive metal veterans, Dream Theater, have announced 'Black Clouds & Silver Linings' as the title of their tenth studio album. The band commenced work on the album - their second for Roadrunner Records, following up 2007's 'Systematic Chaos' - in October last year. Roadrunner will release the record on June 22.

In addition to the standard version CD, the album will also be available on vinyl LP, as well as a three-disc Special Edition CD that will include the full album, a CD of instrumental mixes of the album and a CD of six cover songs, which will be revealed at a later date. Also in consideration is a super deluxe special edition package, though not yet confirmed.

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Eels to release new album in June

The Eels will return with their first album in four years on June 2nd with the release of Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs of Desire. The new album was recorded at Mark Oliver Everett’s Los Angeles studio

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Queen Rerelease

Queen's original EP is being reissued in a limited 3,000 copy run for the U.K.'s Record Store Day on April 14. It will only be available at stores officially participating in the one day celebration.

The track list:

Good Old Fashioned Loverboy
Death On Two Legs
Tenement Funster (single version)
White Queen

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All U.S. Virgin Megastores To Close By June

The planned U.S. closure of the Virgin Megastore chain by mid-June will mark the end of the British music retail invasion.

HMV was the first to land in November 1990, with an East Coast incursion, followed soon by Virgin's entry on the West Coast and W.H. Smith's focus on the country's heartland malls.

The three chains came in thinking they could teach the Americans a thing or two about merchandising music. But their high-handed attitude wasn't directed at their competitors, like Tower Records, Camelot Music, Record World and other long-dead music chains. Rather, it was targeted at the record labels.

"They were arrogant," a label sales executive told Billboard about the British chains before Virgin confirmed its U.S. closings. "They thought they knew everything. They thought they were going to take the U.S. by storm. But I grew to love them. They were all good music guys and their stores were great."

The British merchants were especially known for championing certain kinds of artists and genres. But their fatal flaw was a failure to understand the U.S. real estate market. HMV and Virgin had a history of overpaying for locations, which meant both chains usually had more unprofitable stores than profitable ones.

At its peak, the Virgin Megastore chain had 23 stores and revenue of $280 million annually, but at least 12 of those stores weren't profitable. After a four-year store-closing spree, the chain was down to six stores by January, all of them profitable, and combined they were doing a very respectable $180 million in annual sales. The chain's New York Times Square location generated $55 million, with $6 million in profit, while its Union Square store downtown had $40 million in sales and a few million dollars in profit, according to sources.

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New Breeders Music On The Way

Fans of the Breeders waited six years between the band’s 2002 album Title TK and last year’s Mountain Battles, but Kim and Kelley Deal are back already, returning with four fresh tracks next month. On April 21st the group will release a limited-edition EP called Fate to Fatal, which features a Bob Marley cover and a tune sung by former Screaming Trees frontman and Queens of the Stone Age collaborator Mark Lanegan.

Classic Rock Videos

The Beatles "Yellow Submarine"

Vinyl In Japan

Vinyl heaven: A treasure-hunter fingers 7-inch gems at Be-in in Tokyo's Koenji district.

45s at 60 just keep groovin' on their 7-inch way

By DAVID HICKEY

It was 60 years ago this month when a country crooner from the South released the first-ever single to spin at 45 rpm.

Issued in green vinyl on the RCA label, the 7-inch "Texarkana Baby" by Eddy "The Tennessee Plowboy" Arnold became a No. 1 hit and enjoyed the sort of sales that today's artists can only dream of.

But good news from the music industry these days is (almost) rarer than a gaffe-free member of Prime Minister Taro Aso's Cabinet, what with total sales in all formats here down 3 percent last year, and one industry official now estimating that worldwide sales have nose-dived by more than 30 percent since 2001 because of illegal downloads.

Amid the gloom, though, there's a bright spot: Several young entrepreneurial owners of Tokyo specialty record stores are experiencing a miniboom — and it has a lot to do with those 7-inch slices of circular vinyl.

"Sales of 45s are up 75 percent on last year, and 75 percent up on five years ago," says Haruka Naka as she steps out from Escalator Records' office, stacked almost to the ceiling with cardboard boxes full of records so new they're likely to be unknown as yet to even the most savvy Tokyo indie kid.

"Vinyl is so much more collectable than MP3s," she adds when asked to explain the format's appeal. "We've got cool kids who are pumped up for buying 7-inches every week."

The mood is similarly upbeat elsewhere, from Daikanyama's Bonjour Records (electronica/alternative) to Koenji's Be-In Records (rarities), with its 30,000 45s in stock (out of 100,000 in all), and Shibuya's Warszawa, a dance-music specialist that does much of its business online and is also taking part in the second Record Store Day on April 18 — a global event to promote independent record stores supported by the likes of Nick Hornby, Bruce Springsteen and The Flaming Lips.

One reason for this vinyl revival is the passion and knowledge of the stores' staff, who are more curators than shop assistants.

For example, those at Be-in can show customers such gems as a 1963 demo of The Rolling Stones' second single, "I Wanna Be Your Man" (a cool ¥126,000), and their oldest 45 in the racks, Elvis Presley's 1958 "Hard-Headed Woman" (a snip at ¥7,800).

Add to that a steady stream of younger buyers, and Tokyo's vibrant DJ scene — dominated by analog purists who sniff at the enfeebled sound quality of MP3s and CDs (because digital can't capture the ultra-high frequencies that analog can) — and you have an idea why plastic is still very much fantastic.

Another key player is the music industry itself, which is grappling for a sustainable business model and is desperate to sell music in any form possible to anybody who will listen. Consequently, some boutique independent labels — and some artists themselves — are coming up with marketing strategies (read: gimmicks) to make a connection with the likes of Escalator's "cool kids."

Naka credits British dance act Klaxons, who built up a buzz in 2006 with limited-edition 7-inch singles before they went Top 40, and London singer- songwriter Jack Penate, whose 2006 release "Second Minute or Hour" was limited to 1,000 copies (each with a unique Polaroid), for making the 7-inch single a cult object again. These days it's vinyl singles by the likes of Vampire Weekend and Friendly Fires (priced at around ¥1,000) that are flying out of the bins and onto turntables.

Here in Tokyo, life also began at 45 rpm for up-and-coming garage-rock trio The Feminine.

"We don't want our tunes to be something you can just download," explains singer Coatea of the band, whose debut single, "Sweet Stout Boogie," was released as a 7-inch last year on Seez Records. "It had to be something 'real.' Even with CDs, it's effectively just data, and you can copy it easily."

Says bassist Shimmy: "We like that crackle you get with vinyl."

Producing a grooved platter of black wax and the paper sleeve it's housed in isn't cheap.

Seez Records President Chikara Yoshida says that it cost ¥250,000 to press (in the United States), package and distribute 500 copies of "Sweet Stout Boogie." Then there's recording costs. Yoshida, 30, says he'd have to sell all 500 copies (at ¥1,000 each) just to break even — something he cheerfully admits is unlikely. So why does he do it? Why not put out a CD, which is cheaper to produce?

"Because vinyl is something that'll never die," he says. "I think the way people listen to analog and digital forms of music is different. On one side of a 45, you've only got room for one song. If you want to listen to the flip side, you've got to physically get up, turn the record over and put the needle on again. I think that's really important. There's no fun in listening to CDs or whatever, where you're just pushing a button.

"I think music should be something you have to put some effort into to get enjoyment out of it. That's what you have to do with vinyl; it's a ritual. I don't understand why the major labels spend ¥500,000 to ¥600,000 on making a tune, using the best recording equipment, if the song is going to end up being downloaded onto a cell phone for ¥100."

Indeed, in such a cell-phone-saturated culture, in which browsing is something you're more likely to do while standing on a train than in a record store, perhaps the continued rude health of Tokyo's independent record stores signifies nothing less than a primordial urge for something physical — for possessions that in and of themselves mean something again. Certainly Escalator's Naka thinks so.

"I think young people these days desire more of a connection — with people, things and music," she says.

Despite the diversification of music formats — it would probably make the late Eddy Arnold chortle if he knew Justin Timberlake's last album was released in more than 100 formats, from ring tones to iTunes to plain old CD — it's ironic that some old technology is in vogue once again.

Perhaps the future lies in a mixture of analog and digital. Many stores, including Warszawa, are offering free download coupons when shoppers purchase a record of any sort.

Analog on the A-side, digital on the B-side, if you like.

SOURCE: http://search.japantimes.co.jp

Music News & Notes

TYRANTS BLOOD - Cover Art And Tracklist Of New Album Revealed


Vancouver, BC-based black/death metallers TYRANTS BLOOD - who feature members from some of Canada’s most prestigious and important metal bands such as BLASPHEMY, WITCHES HAMMER and INFERNAL MAJESTY - have revealed the cover art and tracklisting of their forthcoming album Crushing Onward Into Oblivion. The tracklist is as follows: 'Cast Into Hell', 'Torn From The Sky', 'Slithering Into Exile', 'Behold The Conqueror', 'Deceiver', 'Empire Of Acheron', 'Crushing Onward Into Oblivion', 'Slaine: The Berzerker - I: 'Cauldron Of Blood', II: 'Eyes Without Life', III: 'Flesh Cage Of Insanity'

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Digital Beatles Music

Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the estates of John Lennon and George Harrison are said to be leaning towards giving up on any deal with iTunes for releasing the music of the Beatles instead going with their own website.

Harrison's son, Dhani, says that they have not been able to put together an acceptable deal with the download giant. He told Blender, "We're losing money every day. So what do you do? You have to have your own delivery system, or you have to do a good deal with Steve Jobs. But he says that a download is worth 99 cents, and we disagree."